Gary Stokan has watched the value of the Peach Bowl change for more than a quarter of a century.
Stokan, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl CEO, inherited what some outlets called a "third-tier bowl" in 1998 between Georgia and Virginia. Now, Saturday's matchup between No. 10 Penn State and No. 11 Ole Miss – which kicks off at 12 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium – could be a preview of what's to come for the next 25 years for both the teams and bowls involved.
While the value of bowl games has become a hot topic, Stokan has a game that will be worth watching. Penn State's Chop Robinson and Ole Miss' Cedric Johnson are among the few opt-outs for the matchup between the Nittany Lions and Rebels.
MORE: TSN experts predict CFP semifinals
"You could tell both teams, head coaches, ADs, administration, everyone was excited," Stokan told The Sporting News. "In Ole Miss' case, they were headed to the Citrus Bowl until Alabama got elevated into the playoff. That pushed Ole Miss up into the New Year's Day Six game. In Penn State's case, their season was over, albeit they lost to two of the top six teams in the country. They knew they were in the New Year's Day Six.
"They're both playing for something," he said. "To have a top-20 offense play against the No. 1 defense in the country with a caveat of being a hurry-up offense, I think it's going to be an intriguing matchup. Styles make fights, and these two styles are going to make for a great fight at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl."
Penn State-Ole Miss is a preview of what's to come in the 12-team College Football Playoff era. The Nittany Lions have compiled five seasons with double-digit wins under James Franklin in the CFP era. Ole Miss won 10 games in 2021 and 2023 under Lane Kiffin. In the new setup, these schools could be tournament regulars.
MORE: Times, channels for 2023-24 bowl season
While Stokan contends this year’s version of the 12-team playoff started with the Ohio State-Michigan matchup on Nov. 25, he understands that the 12-team CFP is simply the next evolution from the Poll Era, to the BCS and the four-team playoff. Penn State and Ole Miss would have been the type of teams to fill out the 12-team bracket – part of the “last four in.” That additive of the game should be healthy, Stokan said.
"Each case has improved college football," Stokan said. "I think this next move to a 12-team playoff is going to drastically improve viewership as well as attendance as well as the future of college football because you'll have approximately 30 or 40 teams in November still playing for a spot of 12 in that college football playoff."
What is future of Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl with CFP?
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl CEO Gary Stokan with Stetson Bennett. (Getty Images)
The Peach Bowl’s place in that evolution with the College Football Playoff is secure in 2024 and 2025. In 2024, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will be the site of a CFP quarterfinal (second round) on Jan. 1, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the CFP championship game on Jan. 20, 2025. In 2025, the Peach Bowl will host a semifinal on Jan. 8 or Jan. 9.
Terms for the next CFP agreement for 2026 and beyond have not been finalized, but Stokan is hoping the Peach Bowl remains part of the rotation. Destination bowl games should be part of the equation.
"We’ve sold out 23 of 26 games because we have so many people in Atlanta that buy the tickets before they know the teams," Stokan said. "You can’t depend on the two teams to drive the ticket sales for this playoff. I think that’s an unintended consequence we need to look at."
MORE: 2023 Sporting News All-America team
In that regard, Penn State-Ole Miss could be a preview of sorts of what is to come. Think of a good Sweet 16 matchup in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. This is that kind of game, and that could be the future for games like the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Unlike the Orange Bowl, which is suffering from a host of Florida State opt-outs, Penn State and Ole Miss will feature both starting QBs, and both head coaches are firmly in place.
Not bad for what once was described as a "third-tier bowl."
"We need the bowl games involved in these quarters and semis if not the first-round games in the future, because we all have for lack of a better term a one-game season ticket," Stokan said. "People in our communities buy that ticket knowing we’re going to have a good game."
